An assessment can lead to better exercise

Monday

LAKELAND — A sizeable contingent of people turn to instructor-led exercise programs like Zumba and tai chi to get their bodies in better shape and have fun along the way.

“I do it twice a week and I love it,” said Carol Thormahlen, who gets Zumba training. “It gets you moving and it’s good for your heart.”

Susan and Charlie Walsh attend tai chi classes two mornings a week.

“When we started, I had kinks here and there,” recalled Charlie Walsh, adding “I don’t have them anymore. … We have fun, too.”

Despite the deceptively slower pace of tai chi, the movements aren’t as simple as they look.

“It’s not easy,” said Susan Walsh. “It involves the mind telling the body what to do.”

Most people who take up exercise after having been inactive are familiar with the advice to check with their primary care doctor.

They may not have heard the suggestion by some physical therapists to get an assessment of how they move and what their bodies are ready to handle.

Physical therapists at Bartow Regional Medical Center are among those promoting the merits of getting a functional movement assessment if you’re taking part in or starting an exercise program or sport.

“We offer assessments that can give you a good idea of what you need to do to stay active and fit,” said Tyler Love, who has a doctorate in physical therapy. “We can do it on a 14-year-old or an 85-year-old.”

Having an assessment before you experience pain reduces the risk of injuries occurring because parts of your body don’t function well, said Jim Goodwin, manager of BRMC’s outpatient rehabilitation program.

Emphasis on preventing injuries reflects a trend espoused by the American Physical Therapy Association in Alexandria, Va., which suggests annual checkups by a physical therapist.

“The APTA, as in much of medicine, is trying to look more upstream and think about primary prevention and wellness,” said Jennifer Gamboa of Body Dynamics in Falls Church, Va., who has a doctorate in physical therapy. “It’s about how all the systems work together, including the movement system.”

Movement screening looks at primary movement patterns that everyone, especially young athletes, should be able to do, said Gamboa, who evaluates movement and mobility as part of her practice.

BRMC formed an alliance this spring with the girls’ soccer program at Bartow High School.

They gave the female athletes functional movement assessments, a process that includes having them do movements like squats (involving muscles used in sitting down), straight leg raises and hip hinge movements (as when you pick something up off the floor).

The assessment is 60 to 90 minutes of one-on-one time with a physical therapist and includes recommended exercises.

Of 20 or so soccer players assessed, four or five had movement issues raising “red flags” that needed follow-up sessions for individual exercise programs they can do on their own, said Thomas Bell, another BRMC physical therapist with a doctorate.

For those in better shape, Love went to the team’s off-season strength conditioning class and counseled them in techniques like warm-up breathing exercises.

“I was on board because as a coach, in trying to help your team, reducing injury is beneficial,” said Eina Dorado, head girls’ soccer coach at Bartow High School.

“We’re in the beginning stages with this sort of program, working with the physical therapists. I’m hoping the girls will be better equipped, with the exercises they can do, and be more mindful of their body positioning.”

The team is implementing breathing exercises the physical therapists showed them, she said, explaining that the exercises help set young athletes’ spines in proper alignment to prepare them for weight lifting.

When movement assessments identify weaknesses in individual players, she said, coaches can modify their strength-conditioning training until players have the proper form and strength to execute prescribed training exercises.

Female athletes have a much higher rate of non-contact injuries of the ACL, anterior cruciate ligament, than male athletes do.

Theresa Trentham, physical therapy assistant student at Polk State College, played on the George Jenkins High School soccer team and is an avid runner.

While training at Bartow Regional, she got a functional movement assessment and wasn’t surprised to learn she had poor abdominal core control. She’s now incorporated a program of core work, squats and stretching in her daily routine.

By doing that, she said, she expects to be running longer and avoid pain.

“Whatever the weak link is in the chain is where you end up seeing the pain,” Bell said.

Functional movement assessments also are done for people who have pain. Pain can limit what people do and leads to poor movement patterns as people try to reduce or work around the pain.

Chronic illnesses can be triggered by lack of physical activity, Gamboa said, and lack of physical activity often is due to past pain.

Goodwin, who had a torn meniscus, said he got an assessment and a prescribed exercise program when problems continued after his surgery in July 2014. Doing the exercises for 10-15 minutes most days helped him regain a fuller range of motion and stopped him from limping, he said.

Having the assessment costs $90. Follow-up sessions are about $60, he said.

Robin Williams Adams can be reached at robinwadams99@yahoo.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.